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| chee:cheesemaking [2025/12/06 13:00] – dave | chee:cheesemaking [2025/12/17 02:41] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 |
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| Paneer – a simple type of curd cheese made by adding an acid to hot milk. | _Paneer – a simple type of curd cheese made by adding an acid to hot milk._ |
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| Hand-milking dairy cows on a low-impact community in France. | _Hand-milking dairy cows on a low-impact community in France._ |
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| The simplest way to make cheese - paneer. | _The simplest way to make cheese - paneer._ |
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| Cutting the curd in a stainless steel bucket to release the whey. | _Cutting the curd in a stainless steel bucket to release the whey._ |
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| Turning farmhouse hard cheeses as they mature on the rind. | _Turning farmhouse hard cheeses as they mature on the rind._ |
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| Traditional sheep's cheese making in Romania. | _Traditional sheep's cheese making in Romania._ |
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| ## What can I do? | ## What can I do? |
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| Start your cheesemaking with something simple - just add lemon juice or vinegar to hot milk. Next have a go at soft cheese, and only then attempt hard cheese. It's a good idea to go on a [course](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/directory/categories/cheesemaking-courses), to get a feel for it first. If you're buying milk to make cheese, get either unpasteurised or pasteurised (but not sterilised) full-fat milk. It's also better if you can get non-homogenised milk - i.e. from a small producer, as larger dairies (that supply supermarkets) tend to homogenise, so that there's no cream line. The milk and cream are separated, some of the cream is taken away (for cream or butter), and the rest is broken up into much smaller globules and put back into the milk. Ideally, find a small [dairy](/dair/dairying) - a lot of them are now selling bottled, non-homogenised milk. It's more difficult to make cheese if the milk is homogenised, but not if it's [goat](/goat/goats)'s or [sheep](/shep/sheep)'s milk, which is naturally homogenised - and much easier to obtain unpasteurised. Unpasteurised [cow](/catl/cattle)'s milk is much more regulated. The milk needs frequent testing and it's not allowed in areas where bovine TB is common. | Start your cheesemaking with something simple - just add lemon juice or vinegar to hot milk. Next have a go at soft cheese, and only then attempt hard cheese. It's a good idea to go on a course, to get a feel for it first. If you're buying milk to make cheese, get either unpasteurised or pasteurised (but not sterilised) full-fat milk. It's also better if you can get non-homogenised milk - i.e. from a small producer, as larger dairies (that supply supermarkets) tend to homogenise, so that there's no cream line. The milk and cream are separated, some of the cream is taken away (for cream or butter), and the rest is broken up into much smaller globules and put back into the milk. Ideally, find a small [dairy](/dair/dairying) - a lot of them are now selling bottled, non-homogenised milk. It's more difficult to make cheese if the milk is homogenised, but not if it's [goat](/goat/goats)'s or [sheep](/shep/sheep)'s milk, which is naturally homogenised - and much easier to obtain unpasteurised. Unpasteurised [cow](/catl/cattle)'s milk is much more regulated. The milk needs frequent testing and it's not allowed in areas where bovine TB is common. |
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| ## Specialists | ## Specialist curators of this topic |
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